10 Reasons Civilization May Collapse Because You’re Unhealthy

Are you wondering how unhealthy habits can really cause a collapse? Well wonder no more. I’ve got 10 reasons why American life needs to change or else.

Sorry about the drama, I just needed to grab your attention so I can talk about a serious issue facing America. It’s no secret that the U.S. is full of fat, lazy Americans. Every time you turn around, someone else is coming out with some whacked documentary about what we eat and how everything in the stores is unhealthy.

My wife and I have looked into America’s version of nutrition, and have even written a book about it called Nutriscribe which debunks the common misconceptions about normal dieting and weight loss.

But I’m not here to talk about that book, I’m here to talk about how health is serious, and your unhealthy habits really could lead to the collapse of civilization.

10. Watching TV 

See my post about sitting, and how it’s incredibly bad for your body. Exercise alone is simply not enough to combat the many hours that Americans spend zoning out in front of the TV.

According to David with the New York daily news, back in 2012, they came up with the average American spending roughly 34 hours a week watching junk. 34 hours sitting. 34 hours doing nothing, but eating and getting fat, becoming even more unhealthy than before.

9. Over Spending 

Surprised to find this reason? It’s not about food…or is it? While Americans love to whip out the credit and charge up more debt, it’s not just on materialistic purchases. It’s also on fast food, and restaurants that smother their food in grease, and on junk food. According to the Gallup Polls, the average American is spends somewhere in the ups of $124 on junk food each week. About 10% of Americans disposable income is spent on fast food. I’€™m not sure if that amount includes donuts or not, but still, this site mentions that more than 10 billion fried donut creations are consumed each year. Gross.

8. Drinking Too Much Soda

America has a serious sweet tooth. Just last year, the Wire published an article by J.K. Trotter talking about how much soda the Average American drinks. Are you ready for this? A disgusting 44 gallons per year. Sodas are making Americans fat. Children aren’t immune to this either. Clinics that regularly treat overweight children are finding that it’s mostly because these children receive most, if not all, of their daily caloric intake (1000- 2000 calories) from sodas alone.

7. Drinking Too Much Alcohol

Okay, I get it. You want to relax, go out to the bar, meet a couple of chicks, maybe get their phone number? Alright, maybe I don’€™t get it but, chances are, you’re drinking too much either way. Just because you don’t get completely trashed every other day or weekend doesn’t mean that you’re not doing your liver a disservice. Too much alcohol leads to high blood pressure, high blood fats, and of course, increased risk of heart failure. The extra caloric intake from beers causes weight gain – and we already know about America’s weight problems.

6. Overeating

This is the first topic so far to deal with simply eating too much, or gorging yourself until you’re full. Apparently, Americans struggling with eating disorders tend to have thoughts like the woman in this video, well, maybe just women have thoughts like that, while men have thoughts like this. In either case, overeating is a real problem that many Americans face, and the devastating effects can be seen in the health fallout across the nation. Oh, and for the record, this includes snacking when you’€™re not really hungry.

5. Diabetes

As of 2011, roughly 8.3% of the American population was diagnosed with diabetes, with nearly 2 million news cases being diagnosed in people aged 20 and up. Sadly, this growing pandemic is something that can be maintained with proper exercise, activity, and healthy eating. This growing American health concern is also a major contributor to other diseases, such as heart disease and stroke. It’€™s also the 7th greatest cause of death in the United States.

4. Alzheimer’s Disease

No, this isn’€™t just a disease that makes you forget. It destroys memory and cognitive thinking ability; that is why it is a disease. At first, scientists didn’€™t understand what it was, and it appeared to be a new form of mental illness attacking the elderly. Now, as time has progressed, they’€™re discovering that it’s definitely caused by a series of events throughout a persons life. It’s even believed that there may be a link between this and heart disease. It’€™s the 5th leading cause of death in women, and tenth in men. Now, I have no research to back my theory up, but I do wonder if this disease can be traced, like many others, back to a life of unhealthy habits and inactivity.

3. Mental Health Issues

Roughly 20%, or 1 of every 5 Americans, has or will have a diagnosable mental disorder during their life time. I point this out because avoiding exercises, overeating, and some of the other things I’€™ve mentioned already can directly cause mood instability. Also, increased risk of mental health issues can come from lack of sleep as well, which consistent exercise could help regulate.

2. Cancer On The Rise

With over a million cancer cases estimated to be diagnosed each year, cancer is a large and growing concern for Americans. Believe it or not, there are ways that we can prevent cancer, or at least lower our risks. That includes our activities, weight, and what we eat. Do you see a pattern emerging with health costs/care and exercise and nutrition?

1. Increased Heart Disease

While we all know that cancer scares and diagnoses are up; it’s actually not the number one killer of Americans each year. It’s heart disease. And guess what? It’€™s been directly linked to Americans unhealthy habits. From our constant sitting, to our constantly TV/reality show watching, to eating, or not eating enough of the right types of food. We are killing ourselves.

We come out with big hit shows like The Biggest Loser, and Extreme Weight Loss, and we rally together to root for the contestants, but this is a Band-Aid compared to the work we really need to be doing to help this country. At the rate we’re going with American health deteriorating fast, society is likely to decay from the inside out, from mental health issues, body health, and aggressive tumors and more.

If you’re wondering how America can survive the mountain of health issues we’€™re facing, the answer is we can’€™t. Plain and simple, €”not unless we take measures to teach others how to properly, and effectively, alter and change their lifestyles and behavior. Without a change, America is doomed.

Thanks for having me,

Kusha Karvandi
CEO Exerscribe

For more insights, resources, and free stuff check out the following:

• FREE Chapter from our book Nutriscribe: Adaptive Nutrition
• Exerscribe:The Adaptive Workout App
• The Official Exerscribe Blog

References:

• Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead
• Hungry For Change
• The Perfect Human Diet
• New York Daily News
• The Wire
• WebMD
• Gallup
• DoSomething.Org
• NIMH
• Cancer.Org
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• National Diabetes Information Clearing House
• National Institute on Aging